Socioemotional Behavior Research Articles

A qualitative illuminative evaluation of emotional intelligence training as transformative learning

Orientation: The study focuses on emotional intelligence (EI) training, which is known to promote socio-emotional competencies and behaviours for business success.Research purpose: The study seeks to illuminate the extent to which the Minnaar EQ Dynamics Self-Awareness Programme facilitates transformative learning in EI including its spill-over effects in the workplace.Motivation for the study: Qualitative illuminative research on the transformative learning effect of EI training, and especially its spill-over effect into the workplace, is scant.Research approach/design and method: The study employed a retrospective qualitative case study design with semi-structured interviews as guided by an illuminative evaluation methodology. The ATLAS.ti software programme was utilised to analyse the data collected from nine training programme participants employed in a mining company situated in Gauteng.Main findings: The findings illuminated transformative learning pertaining to intrapersonal and interpersonal domains of EI which positively spilled over to social interactions in the working environment. Some aspects of the training methodology appeared to have contributed to the transformative learning effects.Practical/managerial implications: The findings attest to the value of investing in evidence-based EI training programmes that facilitate transformative learning.Contribution/value-add: The findings underscore the role of transformative EI training in fostering personal growth and development, positive relationships, effective communication and a conducive work environment for organisational success.

The lasting influence of parenting intervention on child behavior: findings from a randomized clinical trial using care for child development guidelines

BackgroundStudies have investigated the role of different parenting intervention programs in the early development of children. Here we aimed to determine the long-term efficacy of Care for Child Development (CCD) guideline interventions on behavioral dimensions of children’s development.MethodsThis randomized clinical trial took place at an outpatient public Pediatrics clinic in Isfahan, Iran from February 2020 to May 2024. Pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 45 in their third trimester were included in the study, and their children were followed for 48 months. The intervention group participated in 5 educational group sessions, each session lasting approximately 45 min. The control group underwent routine education on childcare, as suggested by WHO. The main outcome was the children’s socio-emotional behavior problems using the Children Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at 18, 36, and 48 months. The comparisons between groups were done using independent two-sample t-tests, or the Mann-Whitney test and the Chi-square test. Statistical software SPSS 22 was utilized for data analysis.ResultsFinally, the data of 166 participants (70 in the intervention group and 96 in the control group) were included in the current study. The adjusted mean differences between the intervention and control groups significantly differed in some scales after follow-up. After 36 months of follow-up, the scores in the following aspects were significantly lower in the intervention group: emotional problems, anxiety, seclusion problems, sleep disorders, aggressive behavior, and the total problem. After 48 months, only sleep problems were significantly lower in the intervention group.ConclusionAccording to the results of this intervention, delivering parenting interventions through group sessions according to the CCD recommendation indicated weak efficacy during long-term follow-ups. Further trials are needed to assess the effects of these programs on parents.Trial RegistrationIRCT20190128042533N2, Date of Registration: 16 January 2020, www.irct.ir.

Predicting pointing from early socioemotional communication with mothers, fathers, and strangers through the lens of temperamental reactivity.

Socioemotional and referential communication are primary expressions of interpersonal engagement in infancy and beyond. Early socioemotional communication in dyadic interactions may form a foundation for triadic referential communication and gesture production, yet the role of temperament in moderating their association has not been examined. We investigated whether early socioemotional communication behaviors, and infant temperamental reactivity, were associated with later pointing production. Participants were 51 infants (45% girls) and both their parents (86.5% Dutch). Early infant socioemotional communication (production of smile, vocalizations, and gaze) was observed during separate home-based face-to-face interactions with mothers, fathers, and strangers at 4 and 8 months. At both ages, mothers and fathers reported on infant temperamental surgency and negative affectivity, and overall means were calculated. Referential communication (declarative pointing) was measured during structured lab-based observations at 12 and 15 months. Socioemotional and referential communication behaviors were microanalytically coded second by second. Poisson multilevel regression analyses indicated interaction effects between temperament and smile, vocalizations, and gazes to the adult's face with each partner in predicting pointing. High levels of infant temperamental surgency tended to enhance positive associations between early socioemotional communication behaviors with mothers and fathers and pointing. By contrast, high levels of negative affectivity tended to dampen associations between early communication behaviors with strangers and pointing. Results highlight the importance of infant socioemotional communication with diverse partners and the moderating role of temperamental reactivity in predicting referential communication. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: THE INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOMOTOR CLUMSINESS

Children with autism manifest detection first, then parallel behavior, cooperation, autistic behavior, and communicate less with other children. Higher autism functioning was associated with probing, parallel, cooperative and partnering behavior and lower with autistic behavior. Children had more difficulty in tests where the children were stationary and the environment was changing, followed by tests where the children were moving, and better performance was observed in tests where the children were stationary, and the environment was stable. Psychomotor clumsiness produced negative effects on socio-emotional behavior, while physical activity within school and group play produced positive effects. Autism functionality emerged as a moderator in the relationship between psychomotor clumsiness and socioemotional behavior.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0755/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Understanding the influence of children’s mental health, cognitive development, and environmental factors on learning outcomes in Chile

Mental health, cognitive development, and social background are related to educational success. While growing evidence is available in cultural settings other than Western countries, more knowledge is needed, especially regarding interactions among these dimensions. Rather than studying isolated factors, we propose an integrated approach to consider the diverse interrelated dimensions influencing children’s learning. Life course theory supports this approach underlying the role of early events in subsequent life paths and the multidisciplinary nature of these events. The sample consisted of 610 children (49.1% male) attending first grade. The children completed reading, mathematics, and visuospatial working memory (VWM) assessments. Parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-P) and reported their demographic information. A multilevel path model was estimated, including direct relationships between (i) children’s socioemotional behavior (SEB) and learning, (ii) VWM and learning, and (iii) SEB and VWM. The effects of sex and maternal education were also controlled. School and student level variances were modeled. At the school level, VWM, reading, and mathematics have variance, whereas SEB does not. At the student level, VWM, SEB, and maternal education have significant and differential effects on learning. Hyperactivity and peer problems were negatively related to reading and mathematics, while emotional problems were not, and conduct problems exhibited mixed results. These results reinforce developmental life course approaches, that is, from the beginning of schooling, promoting positive mental health can improve children’s learning outcomes.

Early life stress induces decreased expression of CB1R and FAAH and epigenetic changes in the medial prefrontal cortex of male rats.

Several studies in both animal models and in humans have provided substantial evidence that early life stress (ELS) induces long-term changes in behavior and brain function, making it a significant risk factor in the aetiology of various mental disorders, including anxiety and depression. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that ELS in male rats (i) leads to increased anxiety and depressive-like symptoms; and (ii) that these behavioral changes are associated with functional alterations in the endocannabinoid system of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We further assessed whether the predicted changes in the gene expression of two key components of the endocannabinoid system, cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) and the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), are regulated by epigenetic mechanisms. Behavioral profiling revealed that the proportion of behaviorally affected animals was increased in ELS exposed male rats compared to control animals, specifically showing symptoms of anhedonia and impaired social behavior. On the molecular level we observed a decrease in CB1R and FAAH mRNA expression in the mPFC of adult ELS exposed animals. These gene expression changes were accompanied by reduced global histone 3 acetylation in the mPFC, while no significant changes in DNA methylation and no significant changes of histone-acetylation at the promoter regions of the analyzed genes were detected. Taken together, our data provide evidence that ELS induces a long-term reduction of CB1R and FAAH expression in the mPFC of adult male rats, which may partially contribute to the ELS-induced changes in adult socio-emotional behavior.

Context matters: The importance of investigating random effects in hierarchical models for early childhood education researchers

This paper highlights the importance of examining individual, classroom, and school-level variables simultaneously in early childhood education research. While it is well known that Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) in school-based studies can be used to account for the clustering of students within classrooms or schools, less known is that HLM can use random effects to investigate how higher-level factors (e.g., effects that vary by school) moderate associations between lower-level factors. This possible moderation can be detected even if higher-level data are not collected. Despite this important use of HLM, a clear resource explaining how to test this type of effect is not available for early childhood researchers. This paper demonstrates this use of HLM by presenting three analytic examples using empirical early childhood education data. First, we review school-level effects literature and HLM concepts to provide the rationale for testing cross-level moderation effects in education research; next we do a short review of literature on the variables that will be used in our three examples (viz., teacher beliefs and student socioemotional behavior); next we describe the dataset that will be analyzed; and finally we guide the reader step-by-step through analyses that show the presence and absence of fixed effects of teacher beliefs on student social outcomes and the erroneous conclusions that can occur if school-level moderation (i.e., random effects) tests are excluded from analyses. This paper provides evidence for the importance of testing for how teachers and students impact each other as a function of school differences, shows how this can be accomplished, and highlights the need to examine random effects of clustering in educational models to ensure the full context is accounted for when predicting student outcomes.

An Analysis of the Relationships between Reading Abilities and Socio-emotional Behaviors of School-aged Children: The Mediation Effect of Pragmatic Language Abilities

Objectives: School-aged children with poor reading abilities face a variety of challenges in their lives. They may be at risk of having learning difficulties and behavioral or emotional problems in school. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationships among reading abilities, pragmatic language abilities, and socio-emotional behaviors and the mediation effect of pragmatic language abilities in the relations between reading abilities and socio-emotional behaviors of school-aged children. Methods: The participants in this study are 124 elementary school children (from 2nd to 6th grade). To examine the relationships among reading abilities, pragmatic language abilities, and socio-emotional behaviors, correlations were used. To analyze the mediation effect of pragmatic language abilities in the relations between reading abilities and socio-emotional behaviors, SPSS PROCESS Macro (ver. 3.5) analysis method was used in Model 4. Results: The main findings of this study are as follows. First, reading abilities were significantly correlated with pragmatic language abilities and socio-emotional behaviors. Also, the pragmatic language abilities were significantly correlated with socio-emotional behaviors. Second, pragmatic language abilities mediated the relations between reading abilities and socio-emotional behaviors (emotional difficulties and strengths). Conclusion: The significance of this study lies in verifying that reading abilities and pragmatic language abilities play an important role in alleviating socio-emotional problems and in increasing emotional strengths. These results can be used as important basic data for reading and practical language intervention to reduce emotional difficulties and to increase emotional strengths.

Inappropriate trusting behaviour in dementia.

Inappropriate trusting behaviour may have significant social, financial and other consequences for people living with dementia. However, its clinical associations and predictors have not been clarified. Here we addressed this issue in canonical syndromes of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In 34 patients with AD and 73 with FTD (27 behavioural variant (bv)FTD, 22 semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), 24 nonfluent/agrammatic variant (nfv)PPA) we recorded inappropriate trusting and other abnormal socio-emotional behaviours using a semi-structured caregiver survey. Patients were comprehensively characterised using a general cognitive assessment and the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (RSMS; an informant index of socioemotional awareness). Inappropriate trusting was more frequent in svPPA (55%) and bvFTD (44%) than nfvPPA (17%) or AD (24%). After adjusting for age, sex, education and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, inappropriate trusting was significantly more likely in svPPA (odds ratio 3.61; 95% confidence interval 1.41-8.75) and bvFTD (3.01, 1.23-6.65) than AD. Significant predictors of inappropriate trusting comprised apathy in svPPA, disinhibition and altered pain responsiveness in bvFTD, and lower MMSE and RSMS (self-presentation) scores in AD. Dementia syndromes vary in prevalence and predictors of abnormal trusting behaviour, with implications for clinical counselling and safeguarding.

Mental Health Education: Challenges And Future Perspectives

Basic education is a fundamental right and essential for the development of nations, as evidenced by the need for quality educational training. The relationship between socio-emotional behavior and learning is crucial, as cognitive and emotional characteristics directly affect learning. Mental health, often misunderstood and reduced to a restrictive treatment approach, is a determining factor in children's development, influencing emotional issues and how they develop throughout life. The school environment, where children spend most of their time, becomes central to promoting mental health and early intervention. Schools not only provide literacy but should also act as a space for socialization and prevention, integrating practices that address emotional and behavioral issues. The National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) emphasizes the importance of emotional and social competencies, such as empathy and conflict resolution, which are essential for the holistic development of students. Teacher training programs are vital, as they enable teachers to identify signs of emotional problems and intervene appropriately. Educator training should include knowledge about mental disorders and strategies to promote mental health, which can improve academic performance and student wellbeing. The approach should be holistic and student-centered, considering both individual needs and the social context. Ultimately, the school plays a transformative role in society, needing to adapt its curricula and practices to include topics of mental health and well-being, following Paulo Freire’s critical and emancipatory perspective. By integrating health actions into the daily school routine, schools contribute to the development of conscious citizens prepared to face life’s challenges.

Reciprocal prospective effects among parental psychological distress, family cohesion, and child socioemotional behavior within families.

This study explores the dyadic longitudinal interplay among parents' psychological distress, family cohesion, children's internalizing/externalizing behaviors, and peer-related social competence within individual and dyadic relationships. Data came from a nationally representative longitudinal cohort study of children in South Korea. The analyses included 1,779 families across three annual timepoints. Children were 4 years old (48.6% girls) and the mean ages of mothers and fathers were 34.8 and 37.3 years, respectively, at baseline. At each assessment point, mothers completed questionnaires regarding their psychological distress, cohesion, and their child's internalizing/externalizing behaviors, while fathers provided information on their psychological distress and family cohesion. Preschool teachers also evaluated children's peer social competence at each measurement timepoint. The results revealed bidirectional associations between maternal ratings of psychological distress and children's internalizing/externalizing behaviors as well as between maternal ratings of cohesion and children's internalizing/externalizing behaviors. Paternal ratings of psychological distress were longitudinally related to maternal ratings of children's internalizing behaviors. Teacher ratings of children's peer social competence were associated with maternal ratings of internalizing/externalizing behaviors and paternal ratings of psychological distress and cohesion. Teacher ratings of peer social competence and maternal ratings of internalizing and externalizing behaviors were reciprocally associated. Maternal and paternal ratings of psychological distress and cohesion were prospectively and bidirectionally associated. The findings demonstrate prospective transactions among family subsystems, some of which were moderated by child sex, while highlighting the importance of obtaining data on each family member and considering interactive effects of both parent and child sex in this line of inquiry. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Impact of Horse-Assisted Therapy on Socio-Emotional Behaviors in Children with Autism

Animal-assisted therapy for children with autism (ASD) is a form of complementary therapy, integrating methods from various other types of therapy. AAT, or animal-assisted therapy, is a series of interventions that are based on the behavioral traits of animals, especially dogs and horses, which are the most common in this context. These interventions can be integrated into conventional treatments such as behavioral therapy, play therapy, music therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and art therapy, depending on the individual needs of patients. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of an already existing Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) program on social communication skills, executive functions and motor skills in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. The research adopted an observational design to analyze how often certain behaviors occur in the presence or absence of horses in a group intervention program. This research included 16 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), aged between 9 and 14 years (12 boys and 4 girls), who were selected from an School Center for Inclusive Education. The conclusions drawn from our results showed that the horse-assisted therapy, implemented in our experiment, recorded a notable improvement in all the behavioral parameters analyzed. Improvements were observed in Attention in Activity (21.2%), Communication (18.3%) and Compliance (9.1%) during activities, Physical Movements, with a difference of 34.1%, Affective State (23.33%), Visual Control (45%), Functional Skills and Response to Command (46.66%), Social Attention (33.5%) and Dynamic Motor Skills (35.55%) during activities. And the biggest difference was observed in Vocalizations, with a difference of 53%. Our results strongly support the fact that complementary therapy of autism spectrum disorders with the help of horses is an effective form of intervention, which can bring substantial improvements in therapeutic outcomes.

An axis of genetic heterogeneity in autism is indexed by age at diagnosis and is associated with varying developmental and mental health profiles.

There is growing recognition that earliest signs of autism need not clearly manifest in the first three years of life. To what extent is this variation in developmental trajectories associated with age at autism diagnosis? Does the genetic profile of autism vary with age at autism diagnosis? Using longitudinal data from four birth cohorts, we demonstrate that two different trajectories of socio-emotional behaviours are associated with age at diagnosis. We further demonstrate that the age at autism diagnosis is partly heritable (h 2 SNP = 0.12, s.e.m = 0.01), and is associated with two moderately correlated (r g = 0.38, s.e.m = 0.07) autism polygenic factors. One of these factors is associated with earlier diagnosis of autism, lower social and communication abilities in early childhood. The second factor is associated with later autism diagnosis, increased socio-emotional difficulties in adolescence, and has moderate to high positive genetic correlations with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, mental health conditions, and trauma. Overall, our research identifies an axis of heterogeneity in autism, indexed by age at diagnosis, which partly explains heterogeneity in autism and the profiles of co-occurring neurodevelopmental and mental health profiles. Our findings have important implications for how we conceptualise autism and provide one model to explain some of the diversity within autism.

Socio-emotional behavior, learning, and the distinct contributions of Executive Functions in primary graders

Socio-emotional school behavior and learning are both fundamental aspects of children’s development influenced by cognitive control processes named Executive Functions (EF). Yet, research on school-age children has often focused on the relationship between EF and learning skills overlooking that of EF and school behavior, which has usually been examined among preschoolers. The current study investigated the contribution of EF in both school behavior and learning in school-age children. One hundred forty-six III–V graders were assessed using text comprehension and EF tasks and evaluated by teachers-rated inventories on behavioral difficulties and EF within the school context. The results suggested a different involvement of direct and indirect EF measures in the two domains considered: controlling for socioeconomic level and age, an EF direct measure, predicted reading comprehension whereas teacher-reported EF related to both behavior and text comprehension. The results contribute to defining the role of cognitive control processes on school behavior and learning in school-age children.

Emotional Invalidation and Relationship Quality: A Mediational Model Through a Social Learning Lens.

While we know childhood experiences are influential on a child's later socioemotional awareness and behavior, we are still searching for specific mechanisms that influence the transferability of childhood experiences and adult relationship functioning. In this study, we seek to further this area of investigation by examining the interpretation of ambiguous social interactions and perceptions of emotional invalidation as potential mediators of the relationship between perceptions of childhood emotional invalidation and current relationship quality. Participants completed online measures of hostile intent attributions, perceptions of childhood emotional invalidation, and current relationship quality with a significant other. They read emotionally provocative interpersonal scenarios and then reported likely emotionally invalidating reactions from their significant other to measure current perceptions of emotional invalidation. Results supported our hypotheses that perceptions of current emotional invalidation in a close, personal relationship would mediate the relationship between perceptions of childhood maternal emotional invalidation and both current relationship support and relationship conflict. Furthermore, the strength of this mediational pathway outweighed the influence of a more general hostile attribution bias. These findings have implications for prevention and intervention strategies designed to enhance interpersonal functioning.

Cell- and Pathway-Specific Disruptions in the Accumbens of Fragile X Mouse.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. The mesocorticolimbic system, which includes the prefrontal cortex (PFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA), and nucleus accumbens core (NAcC), is essential for regulating socioemotional behaviors. We employed optogenetics to compare the functional properties of the BLA→NAcC, PFC→NAcC, and reciprocal PFC↔BLA pathways in Fmr1-/y::Drd1a-tdTomato male mice. In FXS mice, the PFC↔BLA reciprocal pathway was unaffected, while significant synaptic modifications occurred in the BLA/PFC→NAcC pathways. We observed distinct changes in D1 striatal projection neurons (SPNs) and separate modifications in D2 SPNs. In FXS mice, the BLA/PFC→NAcC-D2 SPN pathways demonstrated heightened synaptic strength. Focusing on the BLA→NAcC pathway, linked to autistic symptoms, we found increased AMPAR and NMDAR currents and elevated spine density in D2 SPNs. Conversely, the amplified firing probability of BLA→NAcC-D1 SPNs was not accompanied by increased synaptic strength, AMPAR and NMDAR currents, or spine density. These pathway-specific alterations resulted in an overall enhancement of excitatory-to-spike coupling, a physiologically relevant index of how efficiently excitatory inputs drive neuronal firing, in both BLA→NAcC-D1 and BLA→NAcC-D2 pathways. Finally, the absence of fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1 (FMRP) led to impaired long-term depression specifically in BLA→D1 SPNs. These distinct alterations in synaptic transmission and plasticity within circuits targeting the NAcC highlight the potential role of postsynaptic mechanisms in selected SPNs in the observed circuit-level changes. This research underscores the heightened vulnerability of the NAcC in the context of FMRP deficiency, emphasizing its pivotal role in the pathophysiology of FXS.

Corticosterone after early adolescent stress prevents social avoidance, aversive behavior, and morphine-conditioned place preference in adulthood.

Stress during childhood or adolescence increases vulnerability to psychiatric disorders in adults. In adult rodents, the delayed effects of stress can increase anxiety-like behavior. These effects, however, can be prevented with post-stress administration of corticosterone (CORT). The effectiveness of CORT in preventing adolescent stress-induced emotional behavior alterations in adulthood has yet to be investigated. Here, we investigated the interactions between early adolescent stress and exogenous corticosterone on adult social, aversive, and drug-seeking behavior in mice, which are translationally related to symptoms associated with psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. A single administration of CORT in drinking water (400ug/mL) for 24h after social defeat or context fear conditioning prevents defeat-induced social avoidance, alters fear processing, prevents adolescent stress-induced anhedonia, and prevents stress-potentiated morphine place preference in adulthood. Exogenous CORT did not immediately prevent stress-induced potentiation of morphine conditioned-place preference in adolescents but did so in adult mice. However, when administered to adolescent mice, CORT also prevented the incubation of morphine-conditioned place preference into adulthood. Lastly, exogenous CORT administration blunted endogenous corticosterone but was unrelated to freezing behavior during a fear test. This is the first demonstration of adolescent post-stress CORT promoting socio-emotional resilience and preventing drug-seeking behavior. Our data suggest elevated corticosterone after a stress experience promotes resilience for at least 40 days across the developmental transition from adolescence to adulthood and is effective for socio-emotional and drug-seeking behavior. These results are critical for understanding how adolescent stress impacts emotional and drug-seeking behavior into adulthood.

Life course predictors of child emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a prospective intergenerational cohort study.

We examine precursors of child emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in a prospective intergenerational Australian cohort study. Parents (N = 549, 60% mothers) of 934 1-9-year-old children completed a COVID-19 specific module in 2020 and/or 2021. Decades prior, a broad range of individual, relational and contextual factors were assessed during parents' own childhood, adolescence and young adulthood (7-8 to 27-28 years old; 1990-2010) and again when their children were 1 year old (2012-2019). After controlling for pre-pandemic socio-emotional behaviour problems, COVID-19 child emotional distress was associated with a range of pre-pandemic parental life course factors including internalising difficulties, lower conscientiousness, social skills problems, poorer relational health and lower trust and tolerance. Additionally, in the postpartum period, pre-pandemic parental internalising difficulties, lower parental warmth, lower cooperation and fewer behavioural competencies predicted child COVID-19 emotional distress. Findings highlight the importance of taking a larger, intergenerational perspective to better equip young populations for future adversities. This involves not only investing in child, adolescent, and young adult emotional and relational health, but also in parents raising young families.

Preschool mother-child emotional preparation program leads to significant improvement in autonomic regulation: a randomized controlled trial

IntroductionMany studies have documented the profound impact that the mother-child relationship has on child sociality and behavior. However, the biological mechanisms that govern the relationship are poorly understood. We developed a mother-child emotional preparation program (MCEP), based on a novel autonomic nervous system learning mechanism. MCEP is hypothesized to condition the child's autonomic nervous system to better meet the preschool socioemotional classroom challenges.MethodsWe conducted a randomized controlled trial of MCEP, comparing a group of children receiving standard curriculum with children receiving standard curriculum plus MCEP. Previously, we reported that the MCEP mother-child dyads (vs controls) were more emotionally connected at six months post intervention and MCEP children (vs controls) displayed better socioemotional behavior at home and in the classroom. At six months post intervention, mothers and children underwent a stressful interaction-interruption paradigm, during which we acquired child ECG. We analyzed heart rate and several measures of child heart rate variability obtained during the 10-minute post-stress recovery period.ResultsWe found that MCEP children showed better autonomic regulation following the stressor, as measured by lower heart rate (p = 0.017) and increased high frequency respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) or vagal tone (p = 0.043). Surprisingly, despite a sample size limited by COVID (n = 12 and 12), the effect sizes were large (g's ranging from 0.89 to 1.09). In addition, we found significant correlations with large effect sizes between autonomic measures and scores on the Welch Emotional Connection Screen (WECS).DiscussionThese findings support the conclusion that MCEP had a significant positive impact on child autonomic regulation in response to stress, which correlates with behavioral assessments of emotional connection. We discuss theoretical considerations and the implications of our findings for preschool education programs in general. This trial was retrospectively registered (clinicaltrial.gov registry NCT02970565) three months after the start of the first recruitment on April 9, 2019.

Mediterranean diet protects against a neuroinflammatory cortical transcriptome: Associations with brain volumetrics, peripheral inflammation, social isolation, and anxiety in nonhuman primates (Macaca fascicularis)

Mediterranean diets may be neuroprotective and prevent cognitive decline relative to Western diets; however, the underlying biology is poorly understood. We assessed the effects of Western versus Mediterranean-like diets on RNAseq-generated transcriptional profiles in lateral temporal cortex and their relationships with longitudinal changes in neuroanatomy, circulating monocyte gene expression, and observations of social isolation and anxiety in 38 socially-housed, middle-aged female cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Diet resulted in differential expression of seven transcripts (FDR < 0.05). Cyclin dependent kinase 14 (CDK14), a proinflammatory regulator, was lower in the Mediterranean group. The remaining six transcripts [i.e., “lunatic fringe” (LFNG), mannose receptor C type 2 (MRC2), solute carrier family 3 member 2 (SLCA32), butyrophilin subfamily 2 member A1 (BTN2A1), katanin regulatory subunit B1 (KATNB1), and transmembrane protein 268 (TMEM268)] were higher in cortex of the Mediterranean group and generally associated with anti-inflammatory/neuroprotective pathways. KATNB1 encodes a subcomponent of katanin, important in maintaining microtubule homeostasis. BTN2A1 is involved in immunomodulation of γδ T-cells which have anti-neuroinflammatory and neuroprotective effects. CDK14, LFNG, MRC2, and SLCA32 are associated with inflammatory pathways. The latter four differentially expressed cortex transcripts were associated with peripheral monocyte transcript levels, neuroanatomical changes determined by MRI, and with social isolation and anxiety. These results provide important insights into the potential mechanistic processes linking diet, peripheral and central inflammation, and behavior. Collectively, our results provide evidence that, relative to Western diets, Mediterranean diets confer protection against peripheral and central inflammation which is reflected in preserved brain structure and socioemotional behavior. Ultimately, such protective effects may confer resilience to the development of neuropathology and associated disease.